The Phillies were able to avoid a seven game home losing streak Sunday afternoon with the help of timely hitting from their longtime shortstop Jimmy Rollins. Rollins helped his team walk off with a victory with a single in twelfth inning to break the deadlock against Giants’ pitcher Brad Penny.

“I always look forward to it,” Rollins said about clutch situations. “I’ve faced Brad Penny a lot. I had an idea what he wanted to do. That’s not a role he’s used to.”

After falling behind 2-1 after the fourth inning thanks to a home run from Nate Schierholtz and an RBI double from Pablo Sandoval, Phillies pitcher Joe Blanton finished strong with an eight inning performance giving up only three runs. Blanton, a topic of trade talk, is showing interested teams his true value with performances like his on Sunday. Blanton, an unrestricted free agent after this season, will most likely be traded before the July 31st trade deadline unless the Phillies truly believe they can heat up and make a run to the playoffs.

Barry Zito also gave a good start for the Giants with a strong seven innings and three runs, continuing his best season so far for the Giants after he has not lived up to expectations after signing an extremely large contract with the Giants years ago.

John Mayberry Jr. led the Phillies with two solo home runs to tie, and then take the lead for the Phillies. After another home run by Schierholtz to tie the game up at three, the teams headed to extra innings. It was not until the twelfth inning that Rollins won the game through a walk off single bringing home Carlos Ruiz.

Kyle Kendrick moves to 4-8 on the season, going two and one-thirds innings to get the win and extended his scoreless streak to over eighteen innings. Brad Penny picks up the loss for the Giants. The Phillies remain fourteen games back in the NL East.

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Written by Matt LaCoille
My name is Matt LaCoille and I am an extremely passionate sports fan. I've enjoyed watching my favorite sports teams since I was born, as well as talk to people about the everyday state of professional sports. Sports are my life, my passion, and my future. I have interned with multiple professional sports teams and organizations as well within the athletic departments of multiple colleges and universities. I currently attend Western New England University with a major in sports management and will continue to pursue a masters in sports administration afterwords. My goal is to one day work full time within a professional sports organization and do what I truly enjoy. Feel free to comment on the articles or message if you would like to talk sports, I'm very open to discussion. Thanks for reading!